Thursday morning we had placid waters again, perfect conditions for a snorkeling trip to the reef. We hired a boat from Keys Marine Lab (KML), an education and research station across the road from our station located here in Layton. Captains Tom and Bill took us out for an entire day of snorkeling. We started the day at Chico Rock, a shallow near reef habitat with lots of easy snorkeling that allowed one to get close to the fish and coral. We also visited Alligator Reef – the clear blue water was amazingly clear. We saw lots of barracuda, rays, and all manner of fish. Lunch on the boat re-energized us adequately to allow one last stop – a reef called Elkhorn Reef just a mile or so from Layton. While the recent coral bleaching events (including a major cold snap in 2010), meant that we did not see any Elkhorn Coral, we did enjoy swimming with a large nurse shark, a few rays, and a number of squid. We returned to the lab exhausted, still swaying with the waves, but with images of an underwater community of life of which we only scratched the surface.
Enjoy these videos which include swimming with a nurse shark, a spiny lobster, and a ray.
– Ryan for the team
